Spirit, Forge and Sea
by Designated Crowd Ninja
Summary: How can two people so similar, be so different? And just how many times was the vow broken? - Movie-verse characters with a few book-verse details and characters. Rated for minor language.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Black-haired Girl**

Grover sat with Kiran on the beach wall, watching the surfers. It was a wonder to Grover that none of them head-first into the sea, the waves were so unpredictable today - Poseidon must be pissed for some reason. He'd been watching over Kiran (a suspected son of Athena, or possibly Apollo, Grover had never gotten to ask which parent he lived with) for a few months now so hanging round pointlessly at the beach with 'the guys' was just a regular daily activity. 'The Guys' were comprised of several surfers from the beach, all of them were currently - you guessed it - surfing. Kiran was a nice guy so, ignoring Grover's protests, he'd stayed with his friend and just watched the waves. Kiran was a tall guy, with broad shoulders and he had sandy-blonde, curly length hair that came down to his chin; he often dressed in jeans and t-shirts with plimsolls and, like Grover, he often flirted with pretty girls - despite the fact that he had a girlfriend - and was quite outdoorsy so it had been easy for Grover to make friends with him.

The other possible demigod he was meant to be watching as also currently surfing, a girl, he couldn't work out her parentage though - one of the minor gods maybe? (Or he hoped at least) But she was hard to keep an eye on considering she didn't hang out with the regular 'surfer' crowd and occasionally didn't even turn up for school, and if she did, she only turned up to lessons if she felt like it. She was a law unto herself really; like how the other surfers had sense to wear wetsuits, she simply wore board shorts and a bikini top, not really caring what people thought, or that she could freeze to death.

Despite the strong smell these two gave off, Grover hadn't sensed a single monster anywhere in Huntington Beach for the entire time he'd been here. A small part of him told him that it was the girl and the rest of him felt that the small part was right. She smelt like a demigod, but there was something ever so slightly off about her, something wrong, but it was so little he dismissed it.

The wind blew strongly, causing Grover to grip his hat tightly to his head, lest he reveal his horns, then he stiffened. A scent caught his nostrils, choking him. Kiran noticed his best friends trembling hands.

"Dude, you okay?" he asked, there was a very slight Texan twang to his voice, almost not even there.

"Do you trust me?" asked Grover

Kiran laughed slightly "O'course man, but-" Grover didn't let him finish

"Then we have to get Helena and get out of here." he said, getting up

"Hartman, but why her? Kath would flip if she knew I-"

"Don't ask, just do. Please man, you have to trust me, you're in danger, both of you." he said, trying to get his head in order as he fished a phone out of his pocket, pressing speed-dial one without hesitation. Thankfully, Kiran didn't question him. Seeing the panic in Grover's eyes and knowing he wasn't being lied to, he sped off to the surf to hopefully catch Helena's attention. To Grover's relief, Chiron answered on the second ring.

"_What is it?_" asked the centaur sharply, already knowing who was calling and ready for the worst news

"A Chimera, I've only just smelt it, but it's close." he said

It took Chiron a moment to respond, he heard a deep breath through the receiver "_Get here the fastest way you can_" he said "_I'll have someone meet you as soon as possible_" with that he hung up, leaving Grover with the question 'how the hell are we going to get to camp?' it was nearly three thousand miles away and could take nearly two days to get there anyway. As Helena jogged up to him, her scraggly jet-black hair damp with salt water and her surfboard tucked under her arm, it became apparent to him that a plane was probably out of the question. Her green eyes flickered with annoyance slightly, but there was still a serious look about her.

"Jameson said it's urgent, so dude, wassup?" she asked, her Californian accent not as joking or sarcastic as it had been the few times they'd spoken

"We have to leave." he said, now wishing he'd made more of an effort to befriend her "Like, _now_, as in _right now_. Where's Kiran?"

The soaked girl observed him for a moment "He's gone to fetch my things" she said, though it sounded like she was deciding whether to take him seriously or not. Damn Kiran, always with his damn soft-spot for women

"Any ideas on how we could get to Long Island?" he asked hopelessly as Kiran jogged back over, Helena wedged her board in the sand and took the towel and bag from him, then began drying her hair with the towel

"Long Island?" asked Kiran in shock "That's on the other side of the country!"

Helena must have decided that he wasn't having her on, because she emerged from her towel, hanging it round her neck "Can I borrow your phone?" she asked

"Why?"

"I'm gonna call my grandma." she said.

Of course! Grover mentally smacked himself on the head as he handed her the phone. He'd met Mrs Hartman at the beginning of the summer and she was already aware that her granddaughter was a demigod before Chiron had told her. Helena's call to her grandmother was short and sweet, much to Grover's relief, simply a 'we need a ride to Long Island' and a moment later the phone was handed back to him "She's on her way here" she said "So you've got five minutes to explain what the hell's going on" she sat herself down on the beach wall, folding her arms.

"It'll be a hell of allot easier to explain when we get there, but I promise I'll tell you everything I know"

_~S~_

Percy swam through the sea he found himself in, shoals of fish darted through the coral reefs below him and the setting sun sent an unearthly glow through the water, which rippled and swayed with the high, rolling waves. As usual, his clothes were completely dry despite being completely submerged in water and he had no trouble breathing, but he got the strangest feeling that he was dreaming, though he didn't remember falling asleep, which was weird.

Suddenly, something broke the surface of the water just above him. A floury of bubbles clouded his vision for a moment and a surfboard nearly collided with his skull. He quickly manoeuvred out of the way. The surfboard was a soft blue colour with three Hawaiian flowers printed on it, the largest was purple; the next was bright pink; and the smallest was neon green. _Hawaii?_ He wondered, but a small voice in his head corrected him, _California _it said. It wasn't until the bubbles had completely cleared did he notice the girl attached to the board by a cord and a Velcro strap round her ankle. Something about her made him freeze. She had scraggly jet-black hair and lightly tanned skin, she wore a rainbow-striped bikini top and green board shorts, she looked about the same age as him. When she opened her eyes Percy saw her eyes were the same sea-green eyes that he had. Their eyes connected and she froze too, yet still having enough sense to tread water gently so she didn't sink, despite the fact that her board was still pulling her down.

A thin line of bubbles trickled from her mouth and stopped, but she still breathed in and it occurred to Percy just as it must of occurred to her _'They can breathe underwater too?'_ their thoughts crossed simultaneously, resounding in each other's heads '_What's your name?'_ Percy asked, half-heartedly hoping that she was a Naiad disguised as a human, but as she answered, another voice rang in his ears.

"Percy!" it was Chiron "Wake up!"

He was pulled untimely from his dream, what was her name again? Dammit, he couldn't remember. "What?" he asked, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice. Chiron offered the short explanation as soon as Percy was dressed, there were two demigods on their way here and they were being pursued by a Chimera. He explained that they were going to meet them via the Grey Sister's Taxi, which Percy was dreading after his first experience.

_~S~_

Helena opened her eyes, when had she fallen asleep? She couldn't remember, but she looked round the cab of the pickup. Her grandma was still driving, singing along to the Elvis tape that was playing. It was pitch black outside – well it would have been, is it weren't for the lights of the few other cars and the street lights – and the highway was almost empty, then a loud snoring caught her attention; she turned as much as she could to look out the back window, and she found the source of the snoring. Grover and Kiran were in the back seat of the cab, leaning against each other, fast asleep and mouths gaping open. Half tempted to grad one of Grover's crutches and hit them both with it, she resisted the temptation and turned back to her grandma.

"Turn off at the next rest stop and I'll take over for a bit" she said, already fishing out her glasses from the glove box.

"Oh it's alright, I'm not tired" insisted her grandma

"I know; I just wanna drive for a bit" she said casually, wiping the lenses of her glasses on the t-shirt she was now wearing. Grandma pulled over at the next service station. Helena got out and walked round, as did her Grandma.

"I'm just going to get a coffee, d'you want anything sweetie?"

"Same as please" she said, stretching out her legs as they had both fallen asleep. As her grandma walked away she glanced into the cab, the boys were awake now and both quite disoriented by the looks of it.

A shiver ran down her spine "_Helena…_" she span round, looking for the source of the voice, but there was no one there, only Grover, demanding to know why they'd stopped.

"Dude, calm down, what the wrong with you?" said Kiran, getting out the cab behind him "And where's your grandma?"

"She went to get coffee"

"I could get in on that, which way she head?"

"Towards the doors dumbass, but she only left like a minuet ago so you should still be able to catch up"

"Cool," he walked away but then span so he was walking backwards "You wanting anything Grover?" he asked as he still walked away

"Hurry the hell up!" he hissed angrily

"I'll take that as a no…" Kiran muttered as he jogged away from them.

"Oh god… oh god, oh god, oh god…" Grover murmured "…It's gonna be fine, everything's going to be fine and-"his head snapped round so fast Helena was surprised he didn't get whiplash. "Did you hear that?

Slightly scared now, Helena cast her eyes over the parking lot. There were a couple of cars, several trucks, a Harley parked on the sidewalk by the doors, but nothing special, but then something dragged her eye towards it. A jet black, unmarked, Lexus was parked a few rows away, directly under a street light, but still directly opposite them. There was a woman sat in the driver's seat, she had perfectly combed silver hair pulled back in a tight bun, wore a black suit (from what she could see) and black shades; she looked like someone from the FBI.

Dimly aware that Grandma and Kiran were back with the coffees, she could feel Grover tugging her arm and saying something. The woman in the Lexus reached up, and – very slowly – took off his shades. Then she went numb, her eyes were all black, drawing her in. Her legs went weak.

_~S~_

Percy and Annabeth sat nervously in the back of the Grey Sisters Taxi, mainly because of the driving, but also because they'd been chosen to go defeat the Chimera and get the two demigods and Grover back to camp safely. Not an easy task. Percy had fought a Chimera before, but he'd been forced to jump out a window – fortunately there had been a lake to land in back then but still, he didn't want to be jumping off any landmarks today.

Annabeth told him that they were close now; he tightened his grip on Riptide. If what Chiron told him was true, then things were about to get a whole lot worse.

_~S~_

A tight grip on her forearms brought her back from her daze. Grover was leaning over her, again saying something, but he looked relieved now. Slowly, she took in her surroundings; she was in the back seat of the pickup, with her head on Grover's lap. It didn't take a genius to know that they were on the highway now.

"What…" she tried to sit up, but then it occurred to her that she felt like throwing up so she took it slowly and pulled the hoodie on properly, putting her arms in the sleeves…. Wait, hoodie?

"You were shivering" explained Grover, and she noticed that he was only wearing his jacket now

"Oh… and what…?" her head was still spinning and she didn't seem to be able to form sentences properly

"What happened?" Grover finished the sentence for her "You were staring into space then you started shaking and threw up a couple of times and then you passed out. So how're you feeling?"

She took a couple of deep breaths "Like I've forgotten something…" she said eventually "What was I staring at?"

Grover looked at her apologetically; it was evident that he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Other than that dear, how're you feeling?" asked Grandma, turning in her seat to face her

"Fine, a little light-headed, but fine" she said, rubbing her eyes. She did a double take; Grandma was in the passenger seat, so who was driving? "Kiran…." She said nervously "didn't you have your licence revoked?"

He laughed, not taking his eyes off the road "Only on a technicality"

"Didn't you get arrested for driving too slowly on the freeway? I'm not staying in this car while you're driving, switch with me"

"No way, you just passed out-ah!" he yelled as the back end of the truck swung out and he desperately tried to correct it.

Grover yelped and swore loudly in a language she didn't recognise but completely understood "Step on it!" he demanded. Just as Kiran looked in the rear-view mirror and turned pale.

"Holy crap..." he said weakly "I gotta be dreaming…"

"No, no you're not" assured Grover, leaning over the top of the bench seat "That thing is why we had to leave California, now _step on it!"_ he ordered, as a large dent caved the roof in slightly

"Oh deer, that's not good" Mrs Hartman quite calmly said, as she began rooting through her huge carpet-bag "Now where did I put it?" As she looked up at the huge dent in the roof, Helena was instantly glad that she'd left her board at the lock up back home.

"How can you be so calm?" squealed Kiran, sounding scared-to-death and on the verge of tears. He screamed as suddenly the back of the pickup was weighted down and began dragging with a screeching of metal against road. Kiran couldn't regain control of the truck as it dragged and swerved wildly. "We're dead" he decided "We're going to be eaten by a giant Lion-thing." For the first time, Helena turned to look out the back of the truck and she finally understood the terror.

Clinging to the back of the truck by two, huge, black claws was a giant, eight-foot-tall lion, its fur was jet-black and its teeth were as big as it's claws, but that wasn't half the story; the lion had a second head, the head of a goat, and it looked just as deadly as the lion. She swore quietly, but then a huge glinting tail shot from behind the lion-goat-thing; it struck and shattered the back window. Even as she jumped back, shielding herself from the glass, she saw what was on the end of that tail. It was a snake, a huge frigging, snake, with acid green scales and ten-inch, poison-dripping teeth. Before she could pass out again, something nudged against her shoulder, she looked round and her grandma was holding out a stylish satchel to her; it was made of dark, sea green leather and had a small sliver pitch-fork embroidered to the corner of the flap. "What is it?"

"You'll need it" Mrs Hartman winked, as Helena took it and pulled it over her shoulders

"You're bleeding…" she noticed, a thin line of blood was dripping down from a cut in her grandma's forehead. Something inside her flared like a match to gasoline; before anyone could stop her, Helena took one glance out the shattered back window shed the hoodie and, completely disregarding the broken glass, grabbed the frame and lifted herself through.

Helena's heart hammered as she stood up in the pickup bed and looked up at the creature bounding after them. Huge claw marks were raked through the metal; it looked like it wasn't strong enough to stand up against the weight and power of that Chimera. The name just came to her, from a story she'd been told a long time ago by Grandma; she'd been told that story so many times it was a surprise the name hadn't come to her instantly. Still following her grandma's words (they seemed to be helpful for once in her life) she reached into the satchel and her hand wrapped round two handles of some kind, and she pulled out two identical bronze knives.

Not thinking at all, she ignored the shouts from Grover and dived for the creature, one knife in each hand.

"What the hell is she doing?" Grover yelled angrily. Now the Chimera had the prey it was looking for, it had ceased in chasing the pickup and was now busy trying to crush Helena with its giant paws. She sliced the goat across the face and all three mouths roared in anger. The goats head shot forward and she only barely ducked its horns. "Stop the car!" he yelled at Kiran

"You just told me to step on it!"

"Just stop the damn car!"

_~S~_

Percy saw a pickup just ahead on the opposite side of the highway; it looked as if someone had put the rear end in a blender. About fifty meters back he could see why they'd stopped; there was the Chimera Chiron had told him about, and ducking its heads and claws was a black haired girl in shorts and t-shirt. She was wielding two knives and slashing angrily when it came within range.

The cab abruptly halted and Percy was thrown against the back of the driver's seat. As soon as he'd recovered, he dived from the car and vaulted the dividing rail between the two sides of the highway, drawing riptide from his pocket. "Get back!" he yelled at the girl, she span to face him. Their eyes met and Percy flinched and froze a few meters shy of the Chimera. If looks could kill… her face very clearly said 'interfere and I'll kill you' then she swung upwards and sliced the knife along the Goats neck. He glanced round to see that Annabeth had gone towards the pickup.

It took him a moment, but Percy realised where he'd seen this girl before; it was the girl from his dream, but because of the bubbles in the water he hadn't been able to see her properly, he could now. Her black hair was choppy – exactly like his but longer – and tied up in a ponytail, her sea-green eyes flashed angrily as she fought (Percy wondered if everyone in the car was okay, and if that was she looked at the Chimera as if it had done her some personal insult) and from her physique he could tell she was a swimmer. She wore board shorts, a t-shirt that had a 'The Surf' motif on the front, flip-flops (Gods knew how she could fight in flip-flops) and a dark sea-green satchel with Poseidon's symbol in the corner; there were several braids round her wrists and her nails were painted black. Percy got the feeling he was looking at what he'd look like if he'd been born a girl, if it weren't for a few additions… Her ears were each pierced several times – and not the normal ones, the ones that actually looked painful, like bars, and points that left great gaping holes in your ears – her nose, lip and eyebrow were also pierced and he was pretty sure he'd caught a glimpse of a tattoo on her ankle. But that aside, it was worrying the he was possibly looking at-

"Look out!" he yelled, diving forward and pulling her out the way of the snakes sharply descending head. He rolled off her and looked up at the Chimera, which was rearing up again. He was about to pull her out the way, but she snatched riptide out of his hand and leapt up again.

The snake shot forward and the sword went straight up, through the roof of its mouth and out between its eyes. The Goat attempted to gore her with its horns; she chopped them off with one swing, and then its head with another. The Lion reared in pain, and its huge paws nearly crushed her, but she swung Riptide once more and lopped of its head. The Chimera dispersed into dust, leaving the snake's teeth, the goat's horns and the lion's claws. Ignoring the trophies left over, the girl turned and jogged back to the pickup. Percy stood for a moment, in shock, before jogging to catch up to her. The moment she reached the other she had the point of the sword against Annabeth's throat and slowly making her back away from them, next was Grover. As Percy reached them, she herded them together.

"I wanna know what the hell is going on _right _now" she demanded, as a car raced past in the fast lane, blaring its horn at them.

Helena looked from Grover to the two that had joined him, she didn't care about names, but if her Grandma had just been put in danger for no reason she was ready to kill.

Something glinted behind the trio. A black Lexus… where had she seen that before? It was so familiar. There was a woman in the driver's seat of the Lexus; again, she looked familiar, with her silver hair and black shades. Another woman was sat in the passenger seat, and she leaned round the silver haired woman to look at Helena. The second woman was indescribably breath-taking, but not because of beauty as such, more because everything about her was so natural and un-altered. She had long, smooth brown hair and grass-green eyes.

The green eyed woman smiled lightly then spoke to the sliver-haired. The sliver-haired woman took off her shades, and Helena felt ill all over again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 – Schooling and Shoaling**

Percy looked over the girl lay in the infirmary bed – Helena – she'd not moved even slightly since they'd put her there; that was just over a week ago. Chiron said that she'd probably used up all her energy fighting the Chimera, and was probably already weak from passing out the first time, and he couldn't be sure why she'd passed out the first time until she woke up. The boy that had been with her – Kiran – had come to terms quickly with the idea, and proved himself a far more than worthy archer by striking an apple that had been thrown up in the air on his first try – it had become quite quickly evident that he was a son of Apollo.

It didn't take him much to work out that Helena was probably his younger sister after what Grover and Kiran had told him about her, but he did wonder where those mean fighting skills came from. The moment before she passed out, she looked at riptide in her hand like she wondered how it had got there, like she didn't know how on earth she'd beaten the Chimera.

"Where the hell am I?" she asked as she attempted to push herself up. Percy stared; he hadn't even noticed her wake up

"You're at Camp Half-Blood" he offered

She scrunched up her eyes, shifting her weight onto one elbow "Yeah, that doesn't help me at all" she murmured, sounding weaker as she spoke more. It took her slumping forward slightly for Percy to remember the glass of Nectar on the nightstand. Shifting to sit on the edge of her cot, he offered the glass to her.

"Here, you'll feel better" he had to help her sit up, and then hold the glass for her. Once she'd finished the glass, a little colour returned to her tanned skin. He let her recover her strength a little, but then he couldn't resist asking "What did it taste like?" she looked at him, confused "It's different for everyone"

She licked the little bit left on her lips "Watermelon and chocolate ice-cream" she replied eventually, like it had only just occurred to her that that was a weird flavour for a drink. After a little while longer, she tried to get up.

"You should stay here" he prompted, pushing her gently back down, but something flickered in her eyes that made it evident that she would only do exactly the opposite as she was told to. "Fine, I guess I'll take you to Chiron"

Percy led her down to the lake where Grover had taken him to first meet Chiron in his centaur form. After she'd gotten over the initial shock of 'he's a centaur?' Helena let Chiron lead her along the shore and explain to her that she was a child of the gods – a demi-god.

Helena stared at the ground as the centaur by the name of Chiron explained everything. She refused to believe one thing specifically though "My parents have been married for nearly twenty years" she said pointedly, "are you saying one of them cheated with a god?"

"I'm afraid that may be the case, but we can safely assume it was your mother"

She took a deep, slow breath, then bent down to pick up a flat stone and skims it across the lake "Which god is it then?"

Chiron watched the water rise up gently to meet the stone and allowed it to skim over the surface more than ten times "Poseidon" he said simply.

Chiron watched Helena walk away slowly, finally accepting that her Grandma was safe and agreeing to stay here at camp – for the summer at least. She was, to say the least, confusing. Grover was right about one thing though; there _was _something off about her. He just hoped to the gods that it wasn't what he was thinking.

_~S~_

At the instruction of Chiron, Helena headed towards Cabin 9. That Percy kid had already explained the Cabin system to her, and he had tried to come with her, but she scowled at him and told him she'd be fine. She didn't like being told what to do, but not as much as she disliked being chauffeured around the place, she enjoyed the ability to find her way round as she pleased and at her own pace.

It didn't take long to find Cabin 9, because it kind of looked like a tiny factory – with its brick walls and its smokestack, she wouldn't be surprised if it were - or maybe an oversized RV. Confidently, she wrapped her knuckles against the vault-like door and took a step back. A few moments later, the door rolled open. Stood in the door way was a floppy-haired boy, he was tall and well-built and he had a friendly face with dark brown eyes; he had tanned skin and his floppy, chocolate brown hair was cut just above his eyes – he was pretty hot – and he wore baggy, ripped jeans, with a white t-shirt. He leaned against the door frame, folding his arms and grinning at her "How can I help?" he asked

For a moment, she lost herself "Um… yeah… Chiron sent me, said something about needing to be armed for later? He said this'd be the best place"

"Oh yeah" he said, nodding in understanding "so what's your name?"

"Helena Hartman, but just call me Hartman"

He took her hand delicately **"**Adi Ferrer, call me whatever you like" very gently, his kissed her hand. Helena was suddenly very aware that she'd not showered since the morning when she'd left Huntington Beach (or even tried to tackle the knots in her hair with her fingers as she usually did, as it simply refused to lie flat any way so brushing it was useless)

"You're, one of the new kids ain't ya?" he stepped out and rolled the door shut behind him. Helena noticed his muscles flex and ripple nicely beneath his shirt. "Is it Apollo or Poseidon?" he asked, snapping her out of her daze. He knew that the two newbies were kids of those two gods, he just couldn't remember which way round it was "This way," he added, motioning for her to follow him round the side of Cabin 9.

"Poseidon" she said as she stepped carefully over the junk scattered over the floor. He led her round to the back of the cabin, where there was what looked like a shed made of corrugated iron.

"Ah," he said, nodding as he unbolted the door to the shed "I hear you kick monster ass" he said, heaving the door open and probably making it look easier that it was. The inside of the shed was almost jet black; Helena supposed that was due to the lack of windows.

"Dude, I don't even know what happened, it's kinda a blur" she admitted, poking her head round the door when he disappeared into the darkness.

A light flicked on and he stuck his head out the door again, "That's your battle reflexes" he grinned "Awesome ain't they?" but she looked confused. He fully emerged from the shed and leaned against the frame, folding his arms "No one explained this to you yet? …You're dyslexic yeah?" he asked, she nodded "All the kids here are some not so much, but that's cause, as kids of the Greek gods, our brains are hardwired for ancient Greek. And ADHD?" he asked, again she nodded "That's your battle reflexes, be a pain in the ass if you were slow on the battle field. It's what we were born to do, kick monster butt."

She considered him for a moment "I could learn to deal with that" she decided, half-smiling at him and taking a casual step or two closer "You seem allot better at this than that other guy, how 'bout you 'arm' me at give me the grand tour?"

"I'd be honoured" he stopped leaning on the frame so he stood a full head and shoulders taller than her

"After you then" she said, motioning towards the shed. He stepped back into the shed and she followed. There were several racks of weaponry along the walls, each weapon looking deadlier than the next. He instructed her to 'watch her feet' as he uncovered a panel on the far wall, and punched in a code, moments later, a meter-square section of the metal floor dropped about three inches lower then split down the middle and parted, revealing a set of stairs. "Very _Star Trek_" she complimented, as she took the hand he offered to her and stepped carefully down into the dark.

Lights came on almost as soon as her foot touched the last rung. Momentarily blinded, she shielded her eyes, stepping of the final tread, and then the lights dimmed at a command from the Hephaestus guy. "Sorry" he said, climbing down the steps after her "we've been meaning to fix that" he skipped the last three steps and jumped down, throwing out one arm ad gesturing along the walls "Anything take your fancy?" he asked

Very simply put, this room made Helena nervous. Weapons, all varyingly dangerous, lined the walls, shelves and the work-tops. There were so many different kinds she couldn't name or count. "I wouldn't know where to start" she admitted, and he grinned.

"What did you fight the Chimera with?" he asked, folding his arms again and leaning against the work-top. "Describe it to me"

She thought for a moment "Two bronze knives, about _this_ big" she held her hands about ten inches apart "they were alright, but I had to get in really close. It was easier with that sword that, um, Percy showed up with"

The Hephaestus kid looked thoughtful "which hand do you write with?"

"Left, mainly"

"Mainly?"

"I can write with my right if I need to"

He nodded, pushed off the work-top and scanned the opposite wall with his eyes. Eventually he picked off two swords from different shelves, equal in size and length. "They're not matched – and one's a little heavier than the other – but try these" he handed them to her hilt first. Carefully she took them and tested the weight in each hand, they didn't feel as 'right' as those knives or that sword had felt in her hands, but she couldn't feel the weight difference he'd mentioned. "Hmm" he mused, plucking another sword off the wall "Lets test you" before she could ask what he meant, he swung the sword down on her and she instinctively brought the swords she was holding up into an 'x' shape to block the blade. "Yeah, I think that works for you" he decided, putting the sword back in its place as she dropped her block; lost for words that he'd just swung a sword at her when she didn't know what she was doing "but word of advice, next time…" he stood behind her and brought her arms up to hold the swords in the same position as before "this is a pretty weak block. If I'd been an Ares kid, you'd currently have a sword sticking out your head" she laughed nervously "Try this instead…" he crossed her forearms over and then crossed the blades "See? It's much stronger, because your elbows are tighter against your body, not outwards like they are with the other, and…" he took her right hand (which was underneath) and swiped the blade down at an angle "you can also gut your opponent while still holding the block, 'cause they'll probably only have one weapon and they're not at an angle where they can easily block with their shield, so it forces them to retreat and you to take on an offensive. Got it?"

"Um-hmm" she said, focusing more on the warmth radiating from him, and the firm muscles against her back.

"Good, now… you'll need some armour"

_~S~_

Kiran spent most of his time with the rest of the Apollo kids, getting to know the camp and other campers. Although he wasn't as good as the rest of his cabin yet, archery was one of the few things he was naturally good at; sword fighting wasn't however, as he'd nearly de-toed one of the Hermes kids when he dropped his sword in one of the most spectacular ways possible. Leading the sing-along at the campfire was easy to get back into, because he used to do it all the time when he was in the Adventure Scouts, on account for his awesome guitar skill – although that too was something he'd have to improve to be anywhere as good as his siblings.

He was on the firing range again at the moment, striking very nearly a bull's-eye every time. Raising the bow in the way he'd been shown by his head counsellor, Lee Fletcher. Just as he was about to release the arrow, he saw Helena being led though the camp by a tall, tanned guy in a white t-shirt; wasn't Percy supposed to be showing he round? Unconsciously he released the arrow and it flew wildly towards the volley-ball court and nearly impaled an Athena guy. The son of Athena yelled at him to watch where he was aiming, but Kiran wasn't listening, somehow, seeing Helena with that guy had twisted his stomach.

Another Apollo guy, Sam, clapped him on the shoulder "Kiran? You alright?" he asked

"Huh? Yeah man, I'm cool" he assured his sibling, glancing back to Helena. He'd not seen her laugh like that since… Correction, he'd _never_ seen her laugh like that. Drawing his mind away from it, he looked back to Sam, who was smirking knowingly "What?"

"Hey, I don't blame you, she's pretty cute"

"What? Dude, no. I gotta girlfriend…" then Kiran cursed, she was gonna kick his ass.

_~S~_

"I think I get it now" said Helena, as she fiddled with the clasps on what she felt was stupidly heavy armour. She'd spent all morning with Adi, and he'd spent the last half an hour explaining the rules of Capture to Flag to her. "We can use any weapons we like, we can take prisoners and disarm them, but not tie them up, and there's no killing or maiming"

"That last one's more of a guideline, but where is the boundary?"

"The creek, and the entire forest's fair game" she recited as she tightened the leather strap that crossed her chest, they held the swords sheaths to her back.

"Good. Now Percy leads our team, cause he's son of Poseidon and head counsellor of Cabin 3" he explained further "On our side – the blue team – we have Cabin 3, Cabin 4, Cabin 9, Cabin 10 and Cabin 11; so that's Poseidon, Demeter, Hephaestus, Aphrodite and Hermes, which leaves the red team with Ares, Athena, Dionysus and Apollo" he looked thoughtful for a moment "Our odds don't look too good" he decided. "Hey guys!" he called "Sorry I'm late, I had to help the new kid with her armour" he grinned and winked at her, but she smacked him on the upside of the head.

They'd reached the Blue teams meeting point and a couple of Hephaestus kids waved Adi over to them, one of them (presumably their counsellor) said something about not harassing the new kid, he smiled apologetically at her and said that she should probably go stand with Percy. Much to her distaste, Percy put a hand on her back and made sure the entire group could see her "Guys, for those of you who don't already know, this is Helena Hartman, a daughter of Poseidon" she gave Percy a glaring glance and nodded awkwardly at the campers staring at her. "Right, now we're all finally here, let's go through the plan" the group gathered round the map of the forest set out on a camping table. "They've got Athena's cabin, but it doesn't automatically mean they'll win. If the Hephaestus cabin go round the side and take out the archers they'll have positioned in the trees, while we're engaged with their main force, then that leaves the rest of the way free until we reach the flag. But of course that's what they'll be expecting us to do so… We'll charge straight in, and make the way clear for Hephaestus cabin to take out the archers, then Hermes runs straight through for the flag-"

"Um…" Helena cut him off "Won't they also be expecting that too? Athena's kids are smart right?"

"Yeah, but they'll probably-"

"Let me finish." She insisted, subtly nudging him out the way so she could get to the map "If they're expecting both, why not do neither?"

"Do nothing?" asked a confused camper

"Well obviously not, that'd be stupid. My theory is, that they'll shoal and they won't try to mix their forces,"

"Wait, shoal? What does that mean?"

Helena looked up at the camper that had said it "It's a term used when similar species fish group together to protect themselves from predators, it's a good tactic, but they don't swim all in the same pattern or at the same speed, just the same direction. I'm guessing they'll do that. So I propose we School." Before anyone could in she explained "It's like Shoaling, except that the fish move in synchronised patterns and mix together, keeping close-nit so it's harder for predators to take them out.

"I reckon that, if we focus a select mix of campers to take out anyone approaching (and two to guard the flag), and then focus the rest on seizing the flag. Send one group round either side, take the flag then we've got a hell of allot'a guy's left over to fight our way back through to our side of the creek. And the archers will be expecting us from the front so they won't see it coming" She looked up at Percy at the end of her proposal. He looked uneasy about a 'new kid' setting their plan of attack.

"What forces where?" he asked, deciding it was better than doing something that the red team had undoubtedly planned for

"Well, for our main force, split each cabin in two so we have an even force on each side."

"Why not have one for strength and one for speed?" Percy suggested, "They'll have to have more forces against the team designed for strength, which makes the way easier for the other team." Helena agreed, that was better "And what about the rest?"

"To take out the main force; Demeter and Poseidon, with two from Hephaestus to guard the flag"

"You're staying back here?" a camper asked, confused and stunned. "You guys are the strongest we have; shouldn't you be leading the charge?"

Helena shook her head "I'm not really any good with a sword yet anyway, but I sure as hell know my way round water, so I'll be a hell of allot more use nearer the creek, and Percy's probably got allot more control and practice with the whole hydrokinesis thing."

Percy shook his head "I'll lead the charge, you stay here and take out the main forces" Helena looked taken back, he may as well have just said 'no that's a bad idea'. Percy then stood and addressed the blue team. He explained the plan to them, splitting them into three groups – A, B and C – and explaining what each group had to do, except he'd made a big change. Group B (the group designed for strength that Percy would be leading) would be attacking the red team from the side. He may have well just slapped Helena in the face, anyone here (except Percy apparently) could tell that would clash with and effectively ruin the whole 'School not Shoal' basis of her plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Disagreements**

Adi stood ten yards away from the flag, keeping a sharp eye out for movement. His sister Harper was on the other side of the flag, so they had a good field of vision. They had a simple job, protect the flag, and if Helena, that Hermes kid and the Demeter cabin held up their blockade, it really would be simple.

Everyone seemed to agree that Helena's plan had been excellent for someone who'd only very recently come to camp, better than Percy's actually, even though no one had said anything about it. Helena hadn't looked too bothered by it, but there was an odd look in her eyes as he explained the plan to the team.

_~S~_

Percy glanced back at Helena as he rallied the group he was leading, composed of mostly Hephaestus campers. She looked like she had a headache, but she caught his gaze and matched it. There was a spark there somewhere and it wasn't good. Personally he had nothing against her, it was more the fact that she existed, and that they were the same age. According to his mom, she'd been with Poseidon for about a year before he'd been born and then he'd left when Percy was seven months old; which meant that Poseidon would of had to of cheated on his mom for them to have been born in the same year. So it was Poseidon that he should have been mad at really, not her, but he couldn't help it, she was just so good at everything.

Grover and Kiran had told him how 'radical' she was on a surfboard – even during storms – and how good she was at all the other water sports she did, how many medals she'd won and things like that – things he should of at least tried due to his heritage. Not only that, but her skill with a sword was miles better than his had been before he'd started training, and that plan was almost worthy of the Athena cabin. It's like she was born to be a daughter of Poseidon, a child of one of the big three, a leader.

_~S~_

Patiently, Helena sat on a rock with the creek behind her; she could see one or two Demeter kids deeper into the forest. It was proving gradually more difficult to get her head round this whole thing. The Greek gods actually existing? Plausible. The fact that they were still alive? Why not? There being sons and daughters of said gods training at a camp on Long Island Sound? Okay, this was getting slightly ridiculous, but it was right in front of her eyes.

What she couldn't understand full stop was the voices and the blackouts. At every point she'd been supposedly fighting superbly, she couldn't remember a thing; except that voice, gods help her if she remembered what it was actually saying or what it sounded like, but she knew when she'd heard it. Only five minutes ago she'd supposedly spouted some kind of amazingly strategically sound plan for capture the flag, but she didn't remember a single moment of it, or a word she'd said, only that that voice had been speaking.

There was a drawn out, rasping breath – the kind you'd expect from someone who was dying – from somewhere nearby. _"You… will… come…"_ Helena's head snapped round, looking for the source of the voice _"I… help… you… become great… make... hero" _the words were enticing, addictive, but on some level, Helena realised that they were poison _"Come… to me… we rise… together"_

Battle cries cleared her head, and Helena was left with the resounding feeling that she'd forgotten something. Shaking the feeling, she drew the swords on her back, her heart hammering; suddenly the swords were heavier in her hands. Already nervous, she looked back at the creek, and at the pond weed swaying in the deeper waters, and she prayed to no one in particular that this would work.

Campers that made it past the Demeter cabin (they were few and far between, and always covered in thorn scratches and leaves) almost laughed when they saw her standing there on her own. The first was a big guy who looked as if the thorns had done nothing but slightly annoy him. Helena got the horrible feeling that he was a son of Ares, and that she was about to have a sword sticking out her head, like Adi had predicted. He laughed at her, and he was soon accompanied by another kid, this one had a bow in his hands. He was kinda short – especially compared to the Ares guy - he had shortish, curly sandy-brown hair and he wore glasses over his blue eyes, Helena was sure she'd seen him talking with Kiran earlier, and they were presumably in the same cabin so it wasn't surprising. A quick decision later and she went for the Apollo guy, he was long range and couldn't deal with short range attacks as well as the Ares kid could. Apparently the Ares kid didn't care for his comrade, because he went straight for the river and Helena smirked, looks like she wouldn't have to deal with him on her own. The Apollo kid was unconscious in moments, on the floor with a dislocated shoulder and a broken bow. Helena turned back to the creek to see that the Ares guy was struggling against the weed that had wrapped tightly round his limbs, trying to disarm him, knocking off his helmet. She stood and watched him swear angrily for a while, before walking over and slamming the dull butt of the sword into his right temple, effectively knocking him out, and then sheathed her swords. The pond weed tied him down, but face up and in shallow water, so he could still breathe at least.

It was easier than she originally thought to hold them off, as there weren't all that many getting past the Demeter cabin, but then that girl from the Hermes cabin ran up to her, Dion, she was panting heavily. "They've sent a force round the side, they've almost completely wiped out Team A!" she exclaimed, Helena was about to ask how she knew, but she was cut off "They've already crossed the creek! There are about seven of them; you've got to catch up to them before they get to the flag! They're Ares kids!"

Helena stared for a moment, "damn, they must have crossed out of my range" she guessed, because she hadn't sensed anyone else step in the creek, then she put her hands on Dion's shoulders, "Do what you can here, but stay out of the creek, it'll do most of the work for you but it can't tell the difference, the other team already know to jump over it when they're coming back with the flag"

Dion took one look at the Ares kid and understood what Helena was saying. With that, Helena dashed into the other side of the forest, drawing her swords, yet not having a single clue how she was going to take on seven Ares kids. Hopefully none others had gotten through so Adi or Harper were free to help.

_~S~_

Adi jumped up at the buzzing on his wrist watch, he and Harper had set up a silent alarm system so they'd know when the opposition were getting close. He turned and nodded to her through twenty yards of trees, and they quickly climbed the trees they were each leaning against. Them being down there at all had been strictly a precaution anyway, in case they'd somehow slipped past the alarms, but they were now up here to keep out of range of all Greek fire explosions. He took out the remote detonator he'd had in his pocket and he waited for the two sharp buzzes from his watch, and then detonated the first charge. There were yells and much cursing of cabin 9; but it must have just missed them, because his wrist watch buzzed again, three sharp buzzes this time, and he set off the next charge.

The charges were circled all around at regular intervals, but they wouldn't all go off if he pressed one detonator, no, that would be a waste, the closest one to them would go off without setting off a chain reaction. It was pretty ingenious if he did say so himself. He saw the explosion of mud and Greek fire from his perch in the trees. Wait, what mud? Sure he'd placed them underground, but the ground had been dry enough. He dismissed it and waited for the next set of four buzzes, but it never came. Instead he heard yells and clashing of swords. The phrase "You seaweed-brains don't know when to give up do you?" caught his ears. Carefully, he hung down from his branch to get a better look. They were about twenty feet away, seven red helmets and one blue, the lone blue trying to hold off and hold back the seven red. Looking round to Harper, who was doing the same, she jumped down from her tree, drew her sword and gave him curt nod.

Helena looked round at the loud slash of blade-on-shield behind her head. She'd been so pre-occupied with paring blows; she hadn't noticed a blow from behind. But someone had blocked it. The Ares kids seemed to freeze in shock for a moment, before their blows continued. There were several more weapon-on-armour clashes behind her, which made her want to look round, if it weren't for the blades already raining down on her from all angles.

"Figured you needed a hand" said a light Boston accent; she couldn't not turn after hearing that, surely enough, fighting back-to-back with her was

"Adi?" she asked, shocked, she hadn't realised they were so close to the flag. He spun his heavy-looking axe in his hand and grinned widely, as he dodged round her and knocked out another Ares kid with the blunt side of his axe. Helena looked round over the seven Ares kids he's knocked out with little to no effort at all and stared at him in shock.

"What? Just because I'm good-looking doesn't mean I can't kick ass" he winked. She threw him a withering look, but then something caught her eye, there were only six Ares campers on the ground. Where was the seventh? She looked round just in time to see red dart through the forest, carrying a blue flag above their head. "Harper" was all Adi said as he darted off in the direction of his sister had been guarding, Helena went for the flag.

She ran as fast as the armour would allow, bolting after the Ares kid. If she'd been quieter, they may not have noticed her and picked up their speed, but they would have to head over the creek, which would probably be her only chance to stop them.

As the creek came into view, she focused as hard as she could, making the current faster and gathering it up. The moment the Ares kid was at the water's edge, the water shot up in a wall, causing them to stumble backwards and turn to face her. It was a girl, from what Adi had told her she guessed it was Ares cabin head counsellor, Clarisse.

"Running away from a fight are you?" chided Helena "That doesn't sound very Ares-like. I'm sure it would be easy to beat you; I won't even have to draw my sword. Why don't you stand and fight like a… woman?" she supposed she could have phrased that last part a little better, but it had the effect she wanted. Infuriated, Clarisse gripped her spear tightly, slammed the flag into the ground and swung round faster than Helena would of thought possible for a girl of that stature. She had no choice but to duck under the spear. "Wow, dude, I was right, I really don't need a sword to defeat you. Ares really isn't all he's cracked up to be is he? Or is that you?"

"I am Clarisse!" she said angrily "Daughter of Ares! And I will make you pay for saying that about my father!"

"Whatever dude" she shrugged, then ducked under the spear again, it seemed that Clarisse had her heart set on severing Helena's head from her shoulders. "Whoa, you nearly got me then" she teased, patronisingly, kind of like how you'd speak to a child. Clarisse swung the spear harsher and Helena brought up her arm to block it. There was an odd splashing/crashing noise and Helena was surprised by the lack of pressure on her arm.

The wall of water in the creek had lowered now, but that wasn't it. Helena looked at where the shaft of the electric spear had collided with her arm, but it hadn't, it had fallen ten inches short of hitting her. Between her arm and the spear, there was a clear-blue oval, about twelve inches long, eight wide and three deep. At first glance it was kind of like jelly, rippling outwards from the point of impact yet remaining solid, but Helena could instantly tell that this was water, but somehow more solid.

Clarisse was the first to get over the shock of it, and she went into a sharp jab with her electric spear – aiming for Helena's gut. But they were matched now; the water-jelly-shield-thing moved with Helena's right forearm and caught the spear head, locking it there. The electricity travelled through the water, unbalancing it, and sparks connected with her forearm, travelling up and down her arm. Helena was struck with a sudden feeling of pins-and-needles, and the hairs and flesh on her arm began to singe.

The water-shield fell and she was forced backwards, drawing her swords off her back and catching the spearhead between the blades inches before it hit her face. A stronger electric current ran through her arms and she cloud only hold onto her swords for a moment before they few out her hands and she cried out.

Stepping lightly, she gradually backed up, trying to keep Clarisse's spear in view. About two feet from the water, Clarisse lunged with her spear, cutting deeply into Helena's bare shins and sending vaults through her legs, causing her to collapse forward. Then the butt of her spear smacked her in the face and sent her flying backwards into the deeper end of the creek. Helena smacked her head off a rock and came up coughing and spluttering, her lungs struggling between breathing water and breathing air, not sure which to adapt to.

Clarisse was laughing loudly "That'll serve you right for disrespecting Ares!" she said, clearly not yet realising that she'd knocked a daughter of Poseidon into water, but it was too late she was already bounding over the creek, holding the flag high above her head cheering loudly, soon joined by her siblings and the remainder of the red team.

Her head pounding, Helena let the water creep up over her skull, over her calves, and over the rest of her only very minor injuries, healing them all. She sat up in the water as Dion scarpered over the rocks to get to her "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly "Do you need a medic?"

"Nah, it's cool, I've had worse" she looked over the younger girl for any injuries, and her eyes caught a nasty, bloodied gash on her thigh "You do though" she said pointedly, and she was about to see if she could use the water to heal this girl too, but she was cut off.

"You know, if we'd stuck to my original plan, we could have won? I told you that the Athena cabin will be expecting everything, which is why we should have used basic tactics!"

Helena restrained herself from swinging round and attempting to drown her brother there and then, she really couldn't put her finger on why she couldn't stand him; oh yeah, now she remembered, he was stuck up. "Oh get a grip, it's only a game" she pointed out as she got out of the water (completely dry to her surprise) and collected her swords.

"Yeah I know that, but you just had to go through with your plan didn't you? And even then if you'd stuck to your own plan, you could have saved your energy and stopped Clarisse here and given me enough time to get over" he accused angrily

"Maybe you should try running faster!" she snapped back, no one accused her of anything – let alone spoke to her like that – and got away with it.

"No!" cried Dion, trying to step in, but Helena pushed her out the way "It was my fault she went after them, she wouldn't have even known if I didn't tell her! Please don't fight" she pleaded with them

"No let him speak, if he's got a problem, he should say it" Helena stepped round Dion.

They were gathering quite a crowd now, some were beginning to cheer for a fight, and others stood cautiously. A fight between two kids of the big three was probably going to be destructive, especially two kids of 'The Earthshaker'. Speaking of which, storm clouds had begun to gather over camp – despite the magical barrier – the temperature had dropped dramatically, winds had begun to howl and the ground seemed to be trembling dangerously, the water in the creek rushed and flooded the ground around it. There weren't really any words exchanged, but suddenly swords clashed, and the clouds burst. They moved so rapidly, and struck with such force that it was clear there was intent to kill, not to mention the identical looks in their now deadly green eyes.

"We should stop them" said Adi, to no one in particular. You couldn't watch, but you couldn't pull your eyes away either, and you knew you should step in and break it up. It seemed only one person in the entire camp dared to step between to kids of Poseidon.

"Helena Hartman, drop your sword, you too Mister Jackson"

Everyone looked round to find the source of the voice. Helena was the first to find it.

Her sword, halted right before it hit Percy in the throat, Percy's hung limply at his side. Her sword didn't move, but she looked round, back towards the camp. A man in a trench coat with a black umbrella was walking towards them, the crowd parted automatically to make way for him. He had dark brown hair and green eyes that were nearly identical to Helena's.

"Dad?" she asked, confused "What are you doing here?"


End file.
